Living a healthy lifestyle may reduce the risk of developing certain types of dementia in the same way that it can reduce the risk of having heart disease or a stroke.
It’s World Alzheimer’s Month and Warwickshire County Council is talking about dementia and raising awareness of steps everyone can all take to lower the chance of developing dementia in later life.
Dementia is not a normal part of getting older, but the risk of developing dementia does increase with age. It is also likely that a mixture of age, genes, environment and lifestyle contribute to whether people will develop dementia.
There is currently no way to completely prevent dementia, but research suggests there may be some simple things we can do to reduce the risk of developing certain types of the disease.
Warwickshire County Councillor Margaret Bell, portfolio holder for Adult Social Care and Health said:
“We all know the importance of a healthy lifestyle on our overall health and wellbeing, but it’s also crucial in helping us to maintain our health as we get older. By keeping your body healthy you can also keep your brain healthy too, this is because some forms of dementia (such as vascular dementia) are caused by a reduction of blood-flow to the brain.”
The following steps can help people feel better and reduce the risk of developing dementia as well as offer protection from other health risks such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Stay active
- Over a week, adults should aim to do at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate-intensity activity. This can be included in ways to fit all lifestyles for example, a walk for 15 minutes, twice a day, on five days of the week or 30 minutes of activity at least five days a week.
Eat a balanced diet
- A balanced diet including a wide variety of foods in the right proportions provides all the nutrients your body requires to keep you healthy. This should include at least five portions of fruit and vegetable, starchy foods like potatoes, rice and bread, some dairy or dairy alternatives along with meat, pulses, eggs or fish for protein.
Reduce alcohol intake
- Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can increases cholesterol levels, raises blood pressure and makes it harder to maintain a healthy weight which can then increase the risk of developing dementia.
Quit smoking
- Smoking has an extremely harmful effect on all of the body, particularly the heart, lungs and blood system (including the blood system in the brain). Smokers are almost twice as likely to develop dementia as non-smokers.
For more advice and details of support services to help make lifestyle changes, visit warwickshire.gov.uk/dementia